Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Who Owns Cultural Artifacts?

For years, museum officials in London and Athens have been quarreling about the "Elgin Marbles," a collection of archaic stone sculptures and that were taken from the Acropolis by Britain's Lord Elgin in the early nineteenth century while Greece was controlled by the Ottoman Empire.

The debate over ownership of the priceless antiquities has continued for ages, but officials of the British Museum, where the carvings are currently on display, continue to claim ownership and have argued that Athens doesn't have an adequate space in which to display the sculptures.

Athens has now answered that argument by building an ultramodern museum to house the pieces that Lord Elgin left behind. The Greeks have also made sure to leave enough empty space in the museum for the remainder of the Elgin Marbles, the return of which they will continue to pursue. To read more about the fantastic new museum and the continuing argument, check out this article from NPR.

Where do you think the sculptures should be? On one hand, the British Museum is one of the most visited museums in the world (only the Louvre gets more traffic), which gives around six million people per year the opportunity to see the priceless Greek treasures. The Acropolis averages roughly half a million visitors each year, so the pieces are certainly more accessible where they are in London.

On the other hand, the sculptures were created by Greeks, and depict Greek gods, Greek wars, and Greek traditions. They are a major part of Greek history and a great source of pride for Greece, so don't they belong where they originated?

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